Herb Snyder is a former, Democratic, two-term Senator from the 16th Senatorial District (1997 through 2004). Prior to his eight years of service in the West Virginia state Senate, Herb was a Jefferson County Commissioner for six years (1991 through 1996). While in the state Senate, Herb served as vice-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for seven years. He also held the position of chairman of the Senate Labor Committee and the Interstate Cooperation Committee. Due to Herb’s tenure in the Senate, he will be able to quickly transition back into a leadership position where he can more effectively advocate for the specific issues facing the rapidly growing Eastern Panhandle.
While in the state Senate, Snyder championed:
- “The Growth County School Facilities Act” which allowed Berkeley and Jefferson counties to keep over one million dollars each year in local property taxes that before would have been distributed throughout the entire state. This was accomplished without raising any new taxes.
- The opening of the Jefferson County Department of Motor Vehicles office that substantially reduced the customer volume in the Berkeley County DMV office.
- The reorganization of the state police districts that allowed for the new regional state police headquarters in Jefferson County and the completion of its new facilities.
- Increased public school student enrollment funding. Although not on the Education Committee, Senator Snyder was a constant reminder to all those involved in the legislative process of his district’s increased enrollment of students in our public schools.
- A $2,000 state tax credit for those who adopt a child.
- “The Waste Tire Management Act” that cleaned up tens of millions of waste tires that were in massive illegal tire piles scattered throughout the state.
- “The Infectious Medical Waste Act” that stopped the import of huge volumes of infectious medical waste into West Virginia from across the nation.
- Senator Snyder handled all the environmental legislation that came before the Senate for the eight years of his service.
At 55, Senator Herb Snyder is an environmental chemist and for 31 years has been the owner and director of Hydrochem Laboratories, a state certified environmental laboratory. In 1977, Herb graduated from Shepherd College with a BS degree in chemistry and business. Herb’s family lives on their beef-cattle farm, which is a registered historic landmark adjacent to the village of Shenandoah Junction in Jefferson County. Herb is the father of six children, two of whom attend Jefferson High School. His four adult children and three grandsons all live in Jefferson County.
“My interest in returning to the state Senate is to aggressively address the challenging issues that face Berkeley and Jefferson counties that the rest of the state does not have in common. Whether the issue is teacher recruitment and retention, locality pay, school construction, infrastructure funding, skyrocketing property taxes, road maintenance, etc., Berkeley and Jefferson counties’ uniquely critical issues will only be addressed if we have knowledgeable and experienced senators within the leadership. I can offer my 14 years of county and legislative experience to the voters of the 16th Senatorial District. I am ready to get back to work for you,” Herb Snyder said.
Paid By Elect Snyder Committee Herb Snyder Candidate and Treasurer |
